CBS Sports released their 2024-2025 rankings of all 30 NBA head coaches on Monday, and coming in at number two was the Sixers’ own Nick Nurse. Only Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat came in above him.
Sam Quinn, who compiled the rankings, cited Nurse’s defensive savant and problem-solving mindset as the primary reason for ranking him above his peers. Nurse coached in the British Basketball League and the Euroleague for 11 years total and spent several seasons coaching at the collegiate and G-League (then the D-League) levels. Per Quinn, that wide range of experience gives Nurse a leg up when it comes to developing creative solutions.
The full reasoning from CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn:
“What Carlisle is to offense, Nurse is to defense. How many coaches would think to bust out a triangle-and-2 defense to stifle Stephen Curry in the Finals? Nick Nurse. End of list. One of the advantages of coming up as a coach in Belgium and Britain and the G-League is that Nurse was exposed to so many different players and styles that when he did ultimately get the top job, he had a far wider pool of strategies to reference in high-stress situations.
He’s seen everything, and by this point, he’s used everything. Nurse, at his core, is a problem solver. Whatever you show him on the court, he’s going to have some idea about how to stop it, and the results thus far have spoken for themselves. He lost Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green and his Raptors still maintained the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Joel Embiid played his best basketball under Nurse last season despite winning an MVP under Rivers. He’s lucky Thibodeau exists, because his reputation for overusing starters probably doesn’t go quite far enough, but in matters of strategy, Nurse is almost unmatched.”
Sixers fans could attest to Nurse’s strategic ability long before he joined the franchise. Even after Kawhi Leonard’s departure from the Toronto Raptors, Nurse seemed to be one of the few head coaches in the league who could draw up an answer to Embiid’s offensive dominance. Now in Philadelphia, the Sixers relied on Nurse’s creative defensive scheming to limit opponents and keep the Sixers afloat during Embiid’s extended absence.
With the Sixers having their most talented lineups in years, Nick Nurse is well-poised to lead the team for a long stretch in the playoffs. If he can devise a game plan that maximizes his players’ strengths while limiting injury risk for Embiid and Paul George, the Sixers may have their best opportunity yet to pursue a championship.
